Stop Talking, Start Doing: A Kick in the Pants in Six Parts

By Shaa Wasmund and Richard Newton

Turn thoughts and words into real, concrete progress to a new goal

In the newly revised 10th Anniversary Edition of Stop Talking, Start Doing: A Kick in the Pants in Six Parts, accomplished entrepreneur Shaa Wasmund delivers a powerful call to action for anyone looking to kick their life into high gear and start realizing their wildest dreams. In the book, you’ll learn to harness that nagging feeling that you should be doing something more and turn it into a positive force for change.

You’ll move from words and thoughts to concrete actions, putting your fears and anxieties in their place and focusing on the rewards that await you right around the corner. An inspiring, can’t-miss prescription for turning those hopes and dreams into reality, Stop Talking, Start Doing offers a powerful guide to help you take that all-important first step on your new journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Nov 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9780857089281

Book preview

STOP TALKING, START DOING

A Kick in the Pants in Six Parts

10th Anniversary Edition

Sháá Wasmund and Richard Newton

Logo: Wiley

Viva gumption!

Schematic illustration of a queue of people.Schematic illustration of different sign boards.

What’s Your Favourite Way To Procrastinate?

Take this quiz and find out …

We all know we procrastinate, but one of the ways that we can help ourselves to Stop Talking and Start Doing is to understand the things we typically do to get in our own way.

My personal favourites are; binge watching Netflix series ‘whilst doing admin’ and pretending that I am being very efficient in multitasking! Another sign is endlessly scrolling through social media, when I have a list of genuinely important things to do but for some reason watching someone turn an IKEA cupboard into something worthy of Soho House seems a far more useful way to spend my time … and of course there’s always redesigning my office, which might be caused by my obsession with DIY IG accounts!

This little quiz will help you pinpoint those triggers so you can be more conscious of them in the future … it will take you less than 3 minutes, be a lot of fun and a genuinely useful reminder of the key culprits that steal your time.

Pop on over to shaa.com/stoptalkingstartdoingquiz and take the test … and make sure to come and tag me on social media with your results ‐ I wonder how many we share in common!

Dr Seuss:

Oh, the places you'll go!

PART 1

TICK TOCK

A photograph of a scorpion.

Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting.

— Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

The past is always tense, the future perfect.

— Zadie Smith

Life has a sting in the tail. Schematic illustration of a scorpion.

It's shorter than we expect.

And it races by while we're working out what's really important and what actually isn't.

As time roars past our ears we drift, deliberate, doubt, and take ourselves too seriously. Yet all the while we talk about what we would, could, and should do to make it better.

And then it's gone. So let's walk the talk.

Because there's never been a better time, or a more urgent time, to start doing the things you want to do.

After all, if not now, then when?

The speed of life

This book is about starting.

It's about shifting from a static state to an active one – a state where things happen because you do something. You may not always get it right, but you're gonna give it a damn good go!

It's about changing gears, moving direction, transforming what you do with your day, your week, your year, and taking control.

It's about deliberately putting one foot in front of the other and stepping forward with purpose instead of being carried along by the crowd.

There's never been a better time to start something. We are surrounded by opportunity at every turn; thanks to technology and new approaches to life and work, anything is possible.

But the downside to this world of opportunity is it can seduce us into being passive and drifting through life.

We find ourselves lost online, scrolling through videos, commenting on photos, updating statuses, Googling, and shopping. It's not that these things aren't fun; sometimes they're even worthwhile. But they trick you into feeling like you're doing – in large part thanks to the power of billions of dollars of marketing – yet leave you with a feeling that there's got to be more to life.

My motto:

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.

Pablo Picasso

I bet you've got an itch for something.

Life is short.

If you've got something you want to do … now is a good time to start.

Here are four reasons why …

Schematic illustration of a hand showing index finger.

The FIRST reason to start something now …

YOU CAN

The doors are wide open.

You can take some initiative, bring your ideas to life, and make your dreams come true in ways past generations could not have imagined. In our hyperconnected world, there's nothing stopping you.

Whatever you want to know is accessible – instantly.

Want to: collect fountain pens from around the world, learn how to collect truffles, find someone to build a mobile phone app for you in another continent, retrain for a new profession, or research how to bicycle across the world? No problem. It's all at your fingertips.

You're just a click away from expert help.

It has never been easier to connect with people who can help you. The soaring development of the internet has demolished barriers between you and the expertise you need. It empowers you to ask friends of friends (and friends of friends of friends) if they can offer advice, make introductions, and share experiences. Remember, we're all only six connections away from Kevin Bacon.

You can take an online course to learn everything from the ukulele to creating your own online course.

Find your people.

Whatever you want to start doing – working on a business or a social project, creating a piece of art, setting up a local artisan coffee shop – there are people all over the world who share your passion. Want to find people to trade antique fountain pens with? There are thousands of them. You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to find these people either. In fact, you can pretty much do it all from your phone. You can support each other, learn from each other, do business with each other. And one day, you might even meet each other in real life.

You don't need to be rich to start something great.

The cost of setting up many businesses, social endeavours, and other projects has fallen off a cliff. Most digital start‐ups don't even need an office. You can work from shared spaces, cafes, or home! This has, for example, had an impact on the venture capital world. The power used to be in the hands of the VCs because you needed money to set up a business and they would exact a heavy price for that cash. Now that it doesn't cost so much to start up, the power is with people who have the ideas and the gumption to make them happen.

Got the gumption? Then let's get going!

You're already at the centre of the universe.

And if in fact you are starting a business or collecting fountain pens from around the world, the global markets are wide open for business. Right from your own front room.

The fat is in the frying pan. Get cooking.

Schematic illustration of person sitting on a chair.Schematic illustration of the victory symbol.

The SECOND reason to start something now …

Unconventional is Conventional

The boat is being rocked.

The world looked pretty different ten years ago when the first edition of this book came out. At work, people had started to push against the boundaries of convention. Offices introduced a hotdesk or two, and our calendars began filling up with webinars. We were staying in touch with people on Facebook